Cartoon Heroes
by Adiva Calandia
Summary: Slightly sick of new mutant chicks, an author wonders . . . What if a human showed up at Xaviers? What if the school was attacked again? Minor X2 spoilers, rating for language. Chap 7 is up!
1. The Hitchhiker

  
  


The hitchhiker was not particularly remarkable, except for the fact that she was hitchhiking. Small oval glasses perched on her face, and her black hair was pulled back into a disheveled ponytail. She carried a dusty cardboard sign with her destination written on it, and a backpack with the necessities of life stuffed in.  
  


A red pickup truck came zooming down the road, and she stuck out her thumb and held out her sign. The car slowed slightly, the passenger side window rolled down, and a few coins were tossed out. The window rolled up again and the car zoomed away.  
  


The hitchhiker sighed and collected the money - A whopping 75 cents. She rolled her eyes. Some people just didn't get the difference between a hitchhiker and a panhandler.  
  


Another car, blue and sporty, came down the road. She held up her sign and waved. The car slowed to a halt beside her, and she jogged up to it, a triumphant smile on her face. Finally!  
  


"Need a lift?" Asked the driver.  
  


"Yes, please."  
  


"Where you headed?"

  
  


"Xavier's School for the Gifted. Can you take me there?"  
  


The man was evidently surprised. "Yeah, sure. I'm heading there myself. Hop in."  
  


"Really? Sweet."  
  


She pulled open the back door and slid into air-conditioned comfort. She let out a deep sigh of relief. The young man driving smiled as he gunned the engine. "Been standing there long?"  
  


"An hour or two, I think. I've had worse." She sat up straight and buckled her seatbelt, leaning forward to talk to the driver. "My name's Jessie Roper, but my friends call me Jess. Thanks for the lift."  
  


"I'm Scott Summers. Nice to meet you."  
  


There was a moment of silence, then Jess asked, "So, what brings you to Xavier's?"  
  


"Oh, I work there. I teach. What about you?"  
  


"I'm hoping to get a job there. I've taught before - well, okay, tutored - and I was wondering if they had need of a chemistry teacher. Would you know?"  
  


Scott considered. "I'm not sure . . . Ororo teaches math and physics, and I teach shop. Jean used to do a little science, but she's not so into that anymore. Yeah, we could probably use you."  
  


"Sweet!" Jess leaned back. "By the way, nice glasses."  
  


"Oh, um . . . thanks," Scott said, slightly uncomfortable.  
  


Jessie picked up on his emotions and leaned forward again. "I'm sorry, did I offend you? I seem to do that sometimes without realizing."  
  


"No, it's just . . . well, I've got an eye problem, and that's why I've got to wear them. I'm not fond of them."  
  


"Oh." Jess shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry."  
  


Scott smiled gamely. "Not your fault. Don't let it bother you."  
  


The rest of the trip passed in easygoing conversation. 

  
  
  
  


Scott drove through an ornate stone gate and pulled up in front of the school. Scott glanced at Jess over the top of the car. "Um, Jessie? Before you go in, I've gotta ask you - do you know what this school is?"  
  


"What do you mean? I mean, I know that Xavier is a mutant supporter. So'm I. That's one of the reasons I wanted to come here - to work with Xavier."  
  


"Okay . . . I guess that's good enough."  
  


Jess looked at him quizzically, but didn't press the matter. She got her answer quickly enough.  
  


Stepping into the school, she stopped and stared, rubbed her eyes, stared some more, and finally, sheepishly, shut her mouth. Young mutant children walked around nonchalantly, as if this were any other school in the world. Over there was a young woman with coral and seaweed growing over her head, and incredible swirly eyes. Over here was a young man with an orange glow from his mouth all the way down his torso.  
  


Jess shook herself. Yes, it was amazing, but that was no reason for staring and being rude. She was incredibly self-conscious of her disheveled appearance from the road, but no one seemed concerned about it.   
  


"Surprised?" Said a voice behind her. She turned around. Scott had followed her in.  
  


"Just a bit," she laughed. "How do I get to Xavier's office?"  
  


"Go up this flight of stairs and take the first right. It's down the hall on the left - his name's on the door. By the way, you should probably call him Professor while you're here."  
  


"Up the stairs, first right, down the hall on the left. Got it. Again, thanks for the ride." She stuck out her hand, and they shook.  
  


Jess climbed the stairs, stopping into a bathroom she passed to straighten herself up. Resuming her original course, she gazed intently at the numbers on the doors until she came to 24 - Charles Xavier. Taking a deep breath, she raised a hand to knock.  
  


Before her knuckles could touch the wood, a kindly voice inside called, "Come in." Jess blinked, wrinkled her forehead in confusion, and turned the knob.  
  


The room was spacious and finely decorated. A desk sat at the other end, with windows surrounding it to let in light. A man - Jessie would judge him in his mid-fifties - was working at the desk. He had put down his work as Jessie entered, and smiled at her. Later, Jess would often remember that first smile - so warm and enveloping that you felt momentarily serene, no matter what was going on around you.  
  


Jess approached the desk and nodded politely. "Professor Xavier?" He nodded in return. "My name's Jessie Roper. Um . . . well, to put it bluntly, I was wondering if you could give me a job here. Maybe as a tutor or something? I've got references, if you need them." She had already unslung the backpack and was beginning to unzip it.  
  


The Professor held up a hand. "Wait, wait, Miss Roper. Let's slow down a bit. You say you need a job?"  
  


Jess nodded. "Yessir. I love teaching, and I heard through the grapevine that you run a school. I've seen you on TV, and I agree with your views on mutants and humans coexisting. I'd love to be able to work with you."  
  


"I see. And are you human or mutant?"  
  


She smiled. "Pure bred homo sapiens, I think. I've certainly shown no signs of a mutation, and I'm already twenty-three."  
  


"Ah. Now then, what sort of job were you looking for? We may have an opening or two you'd be able to fill."  
  


"Well, sir, I'm a chemistry major, and I've done a lot of tutoring. I thought maybe as a science teacher . . . ?"  
  


Xavier considered this. "I'm afraid at the moment, a science teacher isn't particularly necessary" - Jess slumped - "but a private tutor would be very handy, I think. In fact, I'm sure. Would you be willing to work with some of our students to bring their grades up?"  
  


Jessie's face brightened. "Sir, I'd be honored!"  
  


Xavier smiled again. "Very well then. When would you be able to start?"  
  


"Whenever you need me."  
  


They arranged particulars of pay, hours, room and board, and suchlike, and then Jess left the office - to enter one of the most extraordinary schools in the world.  


  



	2. The Man

MEANWHILE . . . .

  
  


A middle-aged man looked around his new offices with great satisfaction as he sipped at his coffee. It was good to be back in business. This place was better lit than the last, at least, if not quite so well equipped. 

  
  
  
  


He took another sip of his coffee and strolled over to one of the computer terminals.

  
  


"How's it going?"

  
  
  
  


The man working on the computer jumped slightly, then cleared his throat and tapped a few keys. "Everything's going well. The lab is fine-tuning the process that will make the agent bond to the X-gene. They're attempting to combine it with knock-out gas of some sort."

  
  
  
  


"Do you know when it'll be ready?"

  
  
  
  


"Within a week, sir."

  
  
  
  


"What about the school?"

  
  
  
  


"Completely unaware, as yet. Just so I'm precisely clear, sir - do you intend this to be just the school, or would you rather have the gas disperse?"

  
  
  
  


"If it were to stay within a certain space, would it intensify the effects?"

  
  
  
  


"Probably. It wouldn't have a chance to disperse into the atmosphere at large. Why?"

  
  


The man grinned madly. "Oh, just a thought."

  
  
  
  


The technician smiled weakly and scooted subtly away.

  
  


___________________________________________________________________________

  
  


A/N: I've got several more chapters waiting for your reviews! Sorry if the formatting on some of this is a little wonky - I still don't understand how to load these so that they'll look as pretty as they do in WordPerfect... *pout*


	3. The Attack on the School

The next few days were a whirlwind of pleased confusion to Jess, as she learned her way around the school and was introduced to the other teachers - Jean Grey (Whom Jessie had insisted on calling Dr. Grey until Jean threatened to do nasty telepathic things, and had recently returned "from Canada"); Warren Worthington (who sported enormous wings and had warmly introduced himself as Archangel); Ororo Munroe (the quiet, weather-controlling science teacher, whom Jess thought was about the most beautiful person to walk the earth); and, of course, Scott Summers.

  
  


There were several other such mutants at the school, who didn't teach, but apparently worked with the others as "the X-men," such as Logan (Just Logan - he was apparently one of those no-last-name people, like Jewel) and Kurt Wagner (A sweet, religious, blue, German mutant, who had scared her slightly at first).

  
  


They were all such different people, yet seemingly united by Professor Xavier's cause - to unite humans and mutants. But at the same time, Jess discovered that there was sometimes as much prejudice inside a minority as outside it. There were several children who made no secret of the fact that they hated having a human inside the school. But Jessie dealt with intolerance well - she'd gone through something similar when she came out as bisexual in high school.

  
  


At the end of the week, Jess lay in her darkened room, reflecting on all this as she listened to the night sounds - the crickets, the breeze, the faint hum of traffic some ways off, the helicopters - 

  
  


The what?

  
  


She rolled out of bed, untangled her legs from the sheets, and walked to the window overlooking the lawn, grabbing her glasses. Yes, there were definitely helicopters hovering high over the school, buzzing about with evident purpose - but as she watched, they flew away.

  
  


She shrugged it off and tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn't. The school was suddenly humming with a subdued tension, obvious even to a non-telepath. Jess had gathered that there had been some sort of attack on the school some months earlier, and she put it down to that. Well, of course they'd be nervous! 

  
  


She rolled over. Still, there wasn't anything to suggest that these helicopters had anything to do with the anti-mutant set. They might even have been hovering somewhere else nearby - it was easy for the eye to be fooled.

  
  


This whole train of thought was an excellent example of the human - or mutant - mind's capability to deceive itself.

  
  


Jess rolled over again and eventually dozed off, having an odd dream where she was surrounded by snakes. They hissed and slid over each other, over her. One slid up over her nose and coiled there, muffling her breathing, looking into her eyes malevolently . . . .

  
  


She woke up and wasn't sure for a moment if she was awake. Finally, it occured to her that the reason she couldn't breathe was because her face was pressed in the pillow. But that sense of malevolency persisted, as did the hissing.

  
  


She rolled over and groped at the bedside table for her glasses. She sat up and put them on - and choked. Some sort of smoke was filling her bedroom. It made her feel light-headed. Remembering her fire-escape training, she dropped to all fours and was able to get cleaner air.

  
  


Crawling out into the corridor, she was horrified to see that the gas was filling the hallways, too, and small leaks around the hinges of the doors suggested that the other bedrooms were similarly filled. 

  
  


Jess pounded on one of the doors - she remembered that Bobby Drake lived in that room. "Get out of there!" She yelled. "Come on!" She continued down the hallway, yelling similarly, and began to here sleepy voices calling out, crying.

  
  


She pounded on another door and glanced at the number. It was the Professor's room. She cursed and looked around the hallway, trying to find someone to help her. Her eyes settled on the boy with the orange glow she had seen her first day.

  
  


"Chamber! C'mere!"

  
  


The boy imitated her and dropped to his knees, crawling on all fours to her. They needed to get outside soon, or else they would run out of breathable air. She jerked her head at the door. "We've gotta get the Professor out."

  
  


"Right."

  
  


They both took a deep breath and entered the room. The Professor appeared to be still asleep, but struggling to wake up. They stood and pulled him out of bed, draping an arm over their shoulders. The gas was filling the room faster and faster, and it made it hard to see. They stumbled out of the bedroom into the hallway. About two dozen students were milling about, and Jess, being the only teacher there, started organizing them.

  
  


"Get outside! Go on! Run!" She grabbed one of the older students as he ran past and handed the Professor off to him. "Get him outside. I'll go get the other adults." 

She ran off to the teachers' hallway and repeated her earlier performance, banging on doors and yelling. Warren and Logan - the dark X-man Jess had just met a few days ago - came out, Logan with his claws out and ready.

  
  


"What the hell is going on here?" He yelled.

  
  


"I dunno, someone's gassing the place. Get the rest of the teachers, I'll go outside and help the kids."

  
  


She ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time, and ran out onto the lawn. She froze, staring in awe at the sky. Instead of clean air, the gas was hovering around the mansion like a sickly fog. But how could that be? It should dissipate once outside the school . . .

  
  


The students were sprawled on the grass, moaning, holding their heads. One little girl shuffled clumsily over to her and grabbed her PJ's, whimpering, "Miss Roper, my head hurts!"

  
  


Jess lifted the girl onto her hip and absentmindedly soothed her, still staring at the gas. She, too, was beginning to feel light-headed, as if all her blood had just rushed out of her head. Shaking her hair out of her face, she began rounding to the other students. All of them were beginning to groan, complaining of headaches, light-headedness, and nauseau.

  
  


"Jessie!"

  
  


She turned around in relief as the other teachers staggered out towards her. She ran towards them, calling out, "What the heck is going on?" She met with the group and merged into it, handing the child to Storm.

  
  


"We were going to ask the same question," replied Scott thickly. Jessie looked at them in concern.

  
  


"You guys, you don't look so good. Sit down, I'll try and find what's keeping this gas here. If you can, find a piece of cloth and some water and wet the cloth down - that should make a reasonable filter."

  
  


It was true, she thought, as she jogged towards the edge of the school grounds, that they didn't look good. All of them were pale, and Kurt and Ororo had looked definitely sick. Oddly enough, Logan, Warren, and herself all seemed reasonably unaffected by the gas. She pushed the thought aside - they were just lucky, seemingly - and fell into a brown study, trying to think of what the gas could be.

  
  


She ran into something. Something very stiff, very obvious, and nearly impossible to see. She blinked, rubbed her nose, picked up her glasses again and stared closer at the object.

  
  


It was a wall of translucent plastic. She blinked again and rubbed at it. Yes, definitely plastic, and extending as far up as she could reach. A slight curve to the wall, both vertically and horizontally, suggested -

  
  


"Holy Mother of God," she breathed. "No way."

  
  


The gas wasn't dissipating because it couldn't dissipate. The whole school was encased in a plastic bubble.

___________________________________________________________________________

A/N: I really hate writing dreams - in real life, they're never as nice and orderly as we write them. Anyhoo . . . .


	4. Stryker

The sound of water had started as a far off roar, that grew closer and closer until it absorbed his whole being. He could hear it ripping and crushing the forest behind him. He remembered tugging futilely at the chains, refusing to believe that he could die.

  
  


And then - silence, and darkness, and pressure became his world. He had hoped for a calm acceptance of his fate. Instead, there was only anger at those who had done this to him. His lungs burned for air, but he kept his mouth and nose shut tightly until he passed out from lack of oxygen.

  
  


God only knows how long he had drifted. But drifted he had, for, miraculously, he had awoken in shallow water, miles downstream from the dam. For a time, he couldn't remember how he'd gotten there, but over a few days, memory had returned. And foremost in his memory was that mutants had done this to him.

  
  


The time spent without oxygen had unhinged him - slightly would perhaps be an understatement. It had taken him a year and a half to rebuild his organization - get funding, equipment, staff - but he'd managed. And now - 

  
  


It was time to send a message that they wouldn't forget, and a school full of dead muties seemed like a good place to start.

  
  


Stryker smiled as the bubble was lowered into place. Life was good.


	5. Alone

Jess sprinted on her way back to the others, instead of the gentle jog she had used before. This was too weird. Noxious gases, she could almost pass off as an accident, but a giant bubble over the school? No way. With luck, the Professor would be awake by now, and he could figure out what to do.

  
  


Luck is a fickle creature, as any gambler will tell you. Jessie ran through the clouds of gas, calling ahead. "Guys? You'll never believe what's going on! Guys!"

  
  


She came to a dead stop in front of the X-men, lying pale and unconscious on the ground.

  
  


"Guys! Guys, wake up! Storm! Scott! Professor!"

  
  


Leaving the adults, she ran around to the students, who were lying in similar states.

  
  


"Jubilee! Chamber!" She shook one of them. "Merina!" She was panting, panicking, starting to sob in fear. "C'mon, wake up!"

  
  


The only sound was her heart pounding in her ears. She stared around wildly, looking for a sign of life, then raised her face to the sky and yelled as loud as she could, "What the hell is going on here?"

  
  


Her shout echoed slightly in the silence. Behind the echoes, she thought she heard someone groan. Following the sound, she came to Wolverine and Archangel, lying near each other, waking up. She fell to her knees beside them.

  
  


"Oh my God, oh my God, are you guys okay? Oh, God, say something!"

  
  


"Jessie?" Said Archangel thickly, propping himself up on his elbows. "What's going on?" Wolverine was also sitting up, shaking his head.

  
  


Jessie burst into tears, trying to speak through huge sobs, then giving up. The two X-men looked at each other in surprise, and Wolverine moved forward to pat her on the back. "Hey, hey, calm down. Shh. It's gonna be okay."

  
  


Archangel stood up and flapped his wings, creating a clear space in the gas around them. He looked about incredulously at the people strewn on the grass around him. He crouched in front of the still sobbing Jessie, who was desperately trying to catch her breath.

  
  


"Jessie?"

  
  


She sniffed and looked up, glasses fogged. She took them off and started cleaning them on her PJ's.

  
  


"Yeah?"

  
  


"Do you have any idea what happened to everyone?"

  
  


She sniffed again. "I can't figure it out. I guess" - sniff - "something in the gas knocked 'em out, but the three of us recovered, and I can't figure out why." She sniffed and let out a few more sobbing breaths.

  
  


Wolverine put an arm around her as he looked at Archangel in bewilderment. What did all three of them have in common? There was a moment's silence as they pondered, and then Archangel snapped his fingers.

  
  


"Wolverine and I both have healing factors. That must have taken care of whatever's in this gas. But I'm not sure about you," he continued, gesturing at Jessie. "The only thing I can think of that's different about you is that you're human."

  
  


"That must be it, then," said Wolverine. "Whatever was in this gas only affected mutants."

  
  


Jessie sniffed - her tears seemed to have subsided for the moment - and looked up at Archangel. Her eyes looked huge when wet. "What're we gonna do?"

  
  


Archangel looked at Wolverine. That was exactly what they wanted to know.


	6. More Attacks

"First things first. What're we gonna do about all these unconscious people on the lawn?"

  
  


Jessie had calmed down considerably, and she gave Wolverine's question some thought. "Well, we can't bring them all inside. It'd take days. I guess we just have to grab some blankets and stuff and make sure they're comfortable. Sound good?"

  
  


"Well, it's a start." 

  
  


The three headed inside to collect the bedclothes. As they stripped the sheets off the beds in one of the dorms, Jessie spoke up again. "Now, you said you both have healing factors?"

  
  


"Yes," replied Warren. "Mine's in my blood - I can transfer it to others." An idea struck him. "Maybe I could use it to revive them!"

  
  


"Wait a sec," interrupted Logan. "You can't give enough blood to revive every single person. It'd kill you."

  
  


"No . . . Maybe there's some sort of enzyme in your blood?" Mused Jessie. "Do you think you could give me a blood sample? Both of you - I might be able to find something." She tossed a pillow at Warren and grinned. "Here, put those fabulous pecs to use and help me carry these outside."

  
  


They strode back outside, loaded down with blankets and pillows, and began to cover up the prone figures on the lawn. Jess carefully tucked a quilt around the Professor, looking down at him sadly.

  
  


"Poor Professor - You're so powerful compared to me, and yet here I am, taking care of you." She chuckled. "It's ridiculous." The Professor moaned and shifted. Jess frowned and put a hand to his forehead. "Jesus Christ - you're burning up. Hey guys?" She called.

  
  


The Professor's eyes suddenly snapped open and he gave an inarticulate cry. Jess looked down in concern and they locked gazes. Her face went slack, and then, a split-second later, she reeled back, shrieking in pain.

  
  


"Jess!" Warren and Logan spun around. Logan ran toward her, dodging bodies, while Warren pumped his wings and took to the air. Warren reached her first. She was curled on the ground in the fetal position, trembling, glasses knocked askew. "Jessie, what happened? Are you okay?" He gently touched her shoulder, and she jerked away.

  
  


"Don't!" Her breathing steadied in a moment, and she sat up.

  
  


"Jess, what happened?"

  
  


"I don't know," she whimpered. "It hurt more than anything I've ever felt. Oh my God . . . ."

  
  


Warren and Logan looked at each other. "Sounds like the Professor mind-blasted her."

  
  


"It does." They glanced back at the Professor, who was mumbling incoherently. Next to him lay Storm, who was tossing and turning. Small thunderclouds constantly formed and dissipated around her head. All around the grounds, similar scenes were unfolding, as the students lost control of their powers.

  
  


Something sizzled and crackled behind them, and they whipped around. Wolverine yelled "Duck!" and grabbed Jess, pulling her to the ground. Archangel leapt into the air as a bolt of energy went roaring by. Wolverine jumped up and ran towards its birthplace - Jubilee. As he loomed over her, she cried out again and started to gather energy. Wolverine knocked her on the head and she fell still, the energy surrounding her hands dissipating harmlessly into the ground.

  
  


The three conscious adults looked at each other breathlessly. Finally, Warren spoke up. 

  
  


"Whatever is in that gas is affecting these guys. Jess?"

  
  


"Huh?"

  
  


"Do you think you could analyze some of this gas? You've got a major in chemistry, right?"

  
  


"Yeah. Um, I might be able to. I'd need a pretty sophisticated lab, though."

  
  


Warren smiled. "We've got that covered. But before we show you the downstairs, we've got to deal with these guys." He gestured expansively at the delirious mass of mutants. "If we don't do something, they could lose complete control of their powers."

  
  


Jess licked her lips nervously. "Much as I hate to say it, the only thing that seems to keep them calmed down is knocking them out. Some of them, we might be able to just - I don't know, tie down, or something - but others, I think, need to be unconscious."

  
  


They split up and drifted through the grounds. Some of the students, whose main mutations were aesthetic, were left alone, while others - such as Nightcrawler and Storm - had to be knocked out. 

  
  


While Wolverine and Archangel dealt with those who needed to be unconscious, Jess roamed quietly and checked on the students. They all had fevers to varying degrees - some were already shaking with chills, while others were just hot. Those who were awake seemed delirious.

  
  


Jessie paused when she reached Bobby Drake - Iceman. The ground around him was beginning to freeze solid, and Rogue, who was lying next to him, was shivering. Jess sighed. She remembered that Rogue's mutation was sucking the life force out of any human she touched, and the powers out of the mutants. Which meant that moving her was a tricky business, to say the least.

  
  


Finally, she wrapped her arms around the girl's waist (blushing as she did so - Rogue was seven different kinds of cute) and whispered, "Please don't kill me, I've had one near death experience tonight already." She hoisted Rogue over her shoulder, jogged several feet away, and dumped her onto the ground again, panting. The girl might be seven different kinds of cute, but when she was asleep, she felt like she was about seven hundred pounds, too.

  
  


Going back over to Bobby, Jess examined the ice that had formed around his hands. There - that was what she was looking for. The gas had condensed into a liquid on the cold surface. That would make it way easier to analyze - And possibly to contain, once Bobby comes to. She fell into thought, trying to figure out how Bobby could use his power to condense the gas into liquid.

  
  


"Jessie!"

  
  


"Huh?" Her head snapped up. Logan was calling from over by the school. He waved.

  
  


"C'mon, we'll show you downstairs!"

  
  


"Coming, just a sec!" She glanced downward and made a silent promise that she'd come back to the problem later before running to the door, dodging the still forms of sleeping students.

____________________________________________________________________________

A/N: If someone has a more accurate description of Jubilee's powers, PLEASE - for the love of god - tell me, because I'm almost certain that's not right. 

  
  


One other note: Like everyone else, I love positive feedback, so thanks for the reviews! But it would be nice to get a little more feedback, instead of just "Please continue." I'm guilty of it too, trust me, but suggestions for improvement are always appreciated. And if there's nothing to improve, well . . . . *wink*

  
  


Oops! Nearly forgot. Merina (she showed up in the first chapter and was mentioned in the last one) belongs to . . . oh crud. . . the name escapes me at the moment, but she belongs to another writer on here who graciously let me borrow her. I'll make sure to find the name and tell y'all.


	7. The Lab

"You're claiming that you have, hidden under this school, not only extremely advanced chemical apparatus, but a jet, a huge mind-reading chamber, and a room where you get missiles and such launched at you?"

  
  


Wolverine and Archangel glanced at each other, before Wolverine shrugged and said, "Yeah, that about covers it. Not to mention the surgery and so forth."

  
  


A smile quirked the edges of Jess's mouth. "Dude. Sweet."

  
  


Wolverine grimaced at the surfer-talk as the elevator doors slid open with a soft bing. The three stepped out into the cooly-lit chrome corridors of the subterranean section of the school. Jessie's eyes widened as she looked around.

  
  


"How big is this place?"

  
  


Archangel stepped out of the elevator and led the way, as Wolverine answered her question. "Dunno. Wheels is probably the only person who knows for certain. No, I take that back - Jean probably knows, too."

  
  


"Here we are," interrupted Archangel, opening a door and gesturing them through. Jessie stepped through the door and gasped.

  
  


An array of chemical apparatus was spread on the table before her - everything she could ever need: Bunsen burners, test tubes, chemical indicators, distilling mechanisms. It was a chemist's paradise. She stepped forward and started to examine the equipment wonderingly.

  
  


"So, do you need anything else?" Inquired Archangel.

  
  


"Uh, yeah . . . I need blood samples on you two. I don't suppose you've got a couple lying around somewhere?"

  
  


They shook their heads.

  
  


"Ah, crackers. Oh well. In that case, could someone get me two syringes and two vials? I'll need to do it myself."

  
  


Wolverine nodded and headed down the hall for the surgery. Archangel watched, amused, as Jessie moved about the lab, fiddling with knobs and switches, running her hands over arrays of beakers, and generally looking like she'd stepped off the elevator into heaven.

  
  


Wolverine came back shortly with the syringes and vials, the hypodermic needles covered in sterile plastic. Jess grimaced.

  
  


"I hate needles," she commented as she turned on a sink and washed her hands. "You guys will forgive me if I stab you or something, right? 'Cause I'm not a doctor or anything . . ."

  
  


Archangel smiled. "I should hope we could both deal with a little stab. Right, Logan?"

Wolverine gave a non-committal grunt.

  
  


Jess smiled back. "Well, okay. I'll apologize in advance, then."

  
  


Forty-five minutes later, she finally sat back, trembling slightly from nervousness. The vials sat in front of her, each close to full with blood. Jessie took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

  
  


"Okay, I'll get to work on these. But first, can we get something to eat? I don't think I've eaten anything since, like, five o'clock. It's gotta be nearly ten."

  
  


They headed back towards the elevator, and Jess, at least, was exhausted. But she wouldn't be able to sleep, knowing that blood was sitting down there, just maybe possessing the key to the cure . . . . But she was so tired. Maybe she could just close her eyes for a few minutes . . . .

  
  


She sank down to the floor of the elevator and closed her eyes, fingers still tapping nervously. By the time they got to their destination, she was lost in a doze.

  
  


* * *

A/N: AAAAGH. I was reading through the reviews (Inspiring myself to write this chapter, finally) and really noticed Princess Alexandria's comments for the first time. How could I miss such a gaping plot hole? Hey - how could you guys miss such a gaping plot hole? No, never mind, I'm kidding. . . . Anyway, thanks so much, Alexandria, I'll have to figure that out.   
  


As for the breakneck speed of the plot - Although it wasn't intentional to begin with, I kinda think it works well. In this sort of disaster, I should think time would either seem to slow down or speed up for the participants - one of the extremes. Plus, I'm skipping over a bunch of stuff that I think might drag the story away from what I want it to be about. But who knows? If there's enough demand, I may go back and talk about Jess's first few weeks at school, etc. 

  
  


Anyway, hope this chapter helped you guys catch your breath - it certainly seems to have helped Jess. :) See ya next chapter! - Adiva


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